When the last boom phase of Bitcoin was just ebbing away, the SEC began to grab hold of the ICO scene. In January of this year, the SEC froze the business operations of AriseCoin for the time being. On 12.12., the authorities announced the amount of the fine and further criminal consequences.

At the beginning of 2018, when the air was escaping from the Bitcoin bubble again, scam messages were almost the order of the day. So was the ICO with the promising name AriseCoin: the company pretended to be “the world’s first decentralised bank”. With an attractive white paper and social media campaign, the operators raised a total of 600 million US dollars. The problem: there was neither an approval nor a decentralized bank. In short, another scam that rode the Bitcoin wave.

Bitcoin and cryptosoft assets frozen immediately

So it also happened that the SEC immediately froze the cryptosoft assets of the two operators. Among them were Bitcoin and cryptosoft deposits. Now, just under 11 months later, the US Securities and Exchange Commission published its ruling on 12 December. In a press release, it announced that the two operators of the ICO had been sentenced by the federal court to pay almost 2.7 million US dollars. Furthermore, they may no longer “act as officers or directors of corporations or participate in future offerings of digital securities”.

Accordingly, the crypto trader Chairman of the Fort Worth Regional Office of the SEC expressed outrage:

“Rice and Ford lied to AriseBank’s crypto trader investors by promoting the company as one of the first decentralized crypto trader banks with its own crypto currency for customer products and services. The […] digital stock exchange will prevent Rice and Ford from committing another cryptoasset-based fraud.”

Without admitting or denying the allegations, the two operators Jared Rice and Stanley Ford accepted to pay a $2.5 million fine. All in all, the operators were quite accommodating. The press release goes on to say so:

“They [the operators and the SEC] also agreed on a lifelong ban on serving as officers and directors of public companies and participating in digital securities offerings and a permanent ban on violating the anti-fraud and registration provisions of federal securities laws.

In the course of the BlockShow 2017 the first Blockchain Oscar will be awarded in spring this year.
By Mark Preuss

The Blockchain Oscar is a Bitcoin loophole startup competition that will take place in two rounds

The first “online” round will start on 2-4 March. A pre-selection of online registered Bitcoin loophole startups by the jury will take place here: https://www.geldplus.net/en/bitcoin-loophole-review/ Each applicant will be examined and evaluated individually, so that a pre-selection of 6 promising companies will emerge at the end.

The qualified companies that have made it into the second round will automatically reach the final on 6 April and can look forward to a pitch in front of the jury and an audience of more than 500 BlockShow participants.

Together with CoinTelegraph, the organizer of the BlockShow 2017, the Blockchain Oscar is supported by companies like Humaniq and Wings. Humaniq, currently working on a next-generation bank based on the Ethereum Blockchain, is wearing the main sponsor’s hat.

Accordingly, the majority of the news spy jury is made up of Humaniq members

The Blockchain Oscar is endowed with a total of 13,000 euros. Of this amount, 5,000 euros in Bitcoin will go to the news spy winner of “The Most Innovative Blockchain-Startup”. Another 5,000 euros in Humaniq Token goes to the news spy and “The Startup Most Valuable for Humanity”.

Another category will be the “The Peoples Choice” category. Here the winner or both winners will be chosen via an online voting on the Wings website. The two places are endowed with 2 and 1 BTC respectively.

The jury of the Blockchain Oscar consists of top-class members of the Blockchain industry. A complete list will be announced shortly. So far we can say that Richard Kastelein (CMO at Humaniq), Tawanda Kembo (Humaniq), Anish Mohammed (Lloyds Banking Group) and Jamie Burke (founder of BlockchainAngels; CEO at Outlier Ventures) will certainly be among the jury members.

Given that only 6 statups will make it into the Oscar final, the first young companies have already enrolled for the pre-selection. Among the first startups are:

The Swedish government agency Lantmäteriet initiated a project last year to test the blockchain technology for the documentation of ownership relationships. This project is now in its second phase.

The blockchain startup ChromaWay and the consulting firm Kairos Future are driving the project forward.

The Bitcoin revolution also works in cooperation with two banks: SBAB and Landshypotek

“It could be a big gain for economic growth,” says ChromaWay CEO Henrik Hjelte about the project’s potential to http://www.onlinebetrug.de/bitcoin-revolution-review. Hjetle describes Sweden as an ideal country to test a blockchain system for land titles, as trust in the public authorities is high and can serve as an example for other Bitcoin revolution projects.

The planned system will enable the buyer and seller to conclude a contract that will allow the banks and the land registry to monitor the progress of the deal.

“The confirmation of the individual work steps on the basis of the blockchain is done by hash, as is otherwise the case with the blockchain,” says Magnus Kempe of Cairo Future and adds “Everyone receives the same information and can check it independently.

Another example is the verification of the existence of a borrower’s note issued by the bank to the real estate buyer.

SBAB Bank states that it has no concrete plans to implement the Bitcoin revolution technology at this time:

“This part should remain hidden from the other persons in the contract. Kempe’s statement to onlinebetrug is that “it will only be confirmed by the bank on the basis of the Bitcoin revolution that such a promissory note has been signed”.

The second phase of the project involves investigating the integration of processes between technology and banks in the verification of contracts. The companies state that ChromaWay’s Platform does not accept any payment transactions via the system and that these are carried out separately.

“Our reasons for participating in the project do not include implementing this solution in our processes. However, it gives us the opportunity to better understand the blockchain technology and possibly use it for our services and products in the future”.

The feeling of drowning in the crowd of people and constantly focusing one’s eyes on the stage to capture every movement of one’s favourite band – with concertVR this special experience should now also be possible from home. The start-up wants to make it possible for everyone to be there live at every concert in the world without having to set foot in front of the front door. With the help of Virtual Reality, a completely new musical experience is to be created that goes far beyond live television transmission. No one knows better what this requires than TV and film producer Andreas Knuffmann, who has already produced countless television formats for Sat1 and is now no less successful in making his own films. As co-founder, he explains in an interview with BTC-ECHO what moved him and why he uses crypto currencies.

What made you decide to develop the news spy?

Two years ago I sat together with my partner Sebastian Deyle and we decided that we want to tackle the news spy topic of VR and music with a software developer we are friends with. For us there is no question that the democratization of technology and the innovative power of hardware will lead to a rapidly increasing demand for content in the music industry. That’s why we have invested a lot of time and money in developing our own app. With our platform, we want to be a common platform for artists, organizers and ultimately also the end user, which will make it possible to enjoy music content in 360° VR in the future. By the end of the year, new VR glasses from Oculus and Facebook will be completely redesigning the market. Our time begins now: The News Spy Review 2018 » Full Scam Check

How far along are you with your Bitcoin secret?

We have a fully functional prototype, i.e. the application with the complete back- and frontend is very well developed. We installed a payment system and programmed a user interface that makes it possible to change camera positions during the concert. This even works via an eye-tracking tool and gives the user the possibility to be directly on stage next to his star, in the front row or elsewhere in the hall. A real innovation that we haven’t found in this form in any other comparable Bitcoin secret app. We are in a continuous development. For example, we are on the subject of spatial sound. This means that we are developing an immersive sound experience that allows us to simulate audio sources analogous to head movement in space. We are in the beta phase, in winter 2018/2019 we will launch the app.

What is the difference between your virtual reality solution and a live TV broadcast? How much can you approach the “real” concert experience?

Virtual Reality is an immersive experience that appeals to the most important senses. Especially the fact that you can orientate yourself by movement in space and thus the concert experience becomes a holistic personal experience is unique so far. The technology will soon make it possible for new, innovative VR glasses to make the enjoyment of my VR concert much easier to consume. In the near future we see a rapidly growing market for content. Compared to VR, the live TV experience is rather passive, whereas the VR experience is active and immediate. Technically, these concerts can be recorded using six fisheye cameras, which are then stitched together to form a 3D image. Here, too, there will soon be a major further development with significantly more powerful cameras. Especially in terms of resolution and sound performance, we are still in the primeval slime of development.

So at an exclusive Coldplay living room concert in New York, I can still sit in the front row with thousands of other virtual concert goers, even if the room is only 40 square meters in size?

We are very much interested in intimate room concerts, because we know from market research that it is an incredible experience for fans to listen to and see their favourite song 1 to 2 m next to their star. The idea is that we will record such exclusive concerts, exclusively, and then only release them for payment via our CVT tokens. In this way we create an organic demand for special content that will lead to the concert VR community growing organically. There is no stronger experience than sitting in the living room of Rihanna in Los Angeles while she sings her five best songs in a light summer dress accompanied by a few musicians exclusively. Here we see a gigantic market for songs on demand. Also the conversations with the labels confirm us to go this way.

A report published this week by Fundstart Global Advisors promises astronomical growth for Bitcoin. By the end of 2019, the Bitcoin exchange rate is expected to rise to 36,000 US dollars, or almost 30,000 euros. The driving factor for this will be falling costs in the mining industry. This was announced by Tom Lee, Chief Strategist of Fundstrat, among others. In the short term, however, he predicts an increase in the Bitcoin price in the coming days. For example, the consensus conference scheduled for next week has proven to be a decisive price driver in the past.

Good news for investors and the Bitcoin secret

According to Fundstrat Global Advisors, the Bitcoin share price will not only recover in the next few years, but will also experience exploding growth like this: https://www.geldplus.net/en/bitcoin-secret-review/. In a report published this week, the New York Bitcoin secret research company predicts that the price will grow to 36,000 US dollars by the end of 2019.

The cause of this optimistic forecast is said to be the “Bitcoin Price to Mining Break Even Cost Metric” index, which was consulted by Fundstrat. In essence, this index calculates the Bitcoin price in relation to the costs incurred for its mining.

Due to falling mining costs, more efficient computing power and ever larger farms, the report adds up:

“We believe that the current growth in computing power by the end of 2019 will lead to a Bitcoin price of just under 36,000 US dollars [30,000 euros] with a range of 20,000 to 64,000 US dollars [21,000 to 54,000 euros].

The thesis is supported by Thomas Lee, Chief Strategist of the Fund Council. He posted a summary of the report on his Twitter profile. Fundstrat’s latest calculations coincide with his personal assessment, which he published at the end of April. In it, Lee is betting on a Bitcoin trading price of 25,000 US dollars by the end of the year. He also assumes that the Bitcoin could be traded at up to 64,000 US dollars by 2020. He also argues with decreasing mining costs as a price driver.

Fundstrat: Consensus conference as short-term cryptosoft price turbo?

Overall, cryptosoft is an important factor for the Bitcoin price. This is because the computer power business itself is dependent on electricity costs for the mining process. This is why more and more mining farms are currently migrating north. Here, favourable prospecting conditions are tempting due to low temperatures, affordable hydroelectric power and crypto-friendly laws. More and more Chinese miners are currently pitching their tents in Scandinavia.

In addition to the medium-term perspective, Lee’s report also forecasts a price rise in the short term. According to Fundstrat’s calculations, the Consensus crypto trade fair to be held in New York at the beginning of next week will cause a price sprint. This would be suggested by the comparative data of the past two years, according to Fundstrat analyst Robert Sluymer in an interview with CNBC.

Since 2016, the annual New York Consensus Fair has brought together the biggest names from the scene with important representatives from politics and industry. More than 4,000 unprecedented participants and 250 speakers are expected this year – among them representatives of the US Securities and Exchange Commission, the CFTC and the EU Parliament. This means that the fair has the potential to initiate groundbreaking changes and innovations.

Nevertheless, Sluymer received criticism for his forecast from the CNBC correspondents. This is a conjecture that is based on only two comparable data points. The causes and backgrounds of market dynamics and macro trends, however, could not be established from a single event.

StellarX appears as a new user interface for trading crypto currencies. The use is obviously free for all participants. One wonders: What is the motivation behind bringing something free of charge onto the market? It seems that Stellar wants to emancipate itself from Bitcoin and differentiate itself from its competitor Ripple.

The problems that arise with centralised stock exchanges are currently buzzing through the news columns in a worrying way. Manipulation of the Bitcoin price and attacks on the infrastructure are welcome fodder for FUD criers, the confidence of the community could be greater. In all this chaos, a new trading platform is now emerging that wants to clean up a bit: StellarX.

StellarX – a decentralized stock exchange?

One ahead: StellarX is not a decentralized stock exchange. So the operators stress on their homepage:

“StellarX has no order books or its own Trading system. Even though StellarX may feel like a DEX because you are trading from your own wallet and everything is solved on-chain, we are not an exchange. We’re basically a pretty good GUI for the public Stellar network.”

The offshoot of the Stellar network thus points to being merely a GUI, a graphical user interface for crypto trading. In this statement hides ultimately also the objective of the new Stellar platform. But before you can understand it, the question arises:

Is StellarX really free of charge?

The answer is an ambiguous yes, because each transaction initially costs 0.00001 XLM. This is owed to the basic features of the decentralized network. Because in the Stellar protocol it is firmly embodied that each transaction costs a fee of 0,00001 Lumen. However, the company promises to bundle and reimburse these costs on its homepage. StellarX adds the fees for each transaction and pays them back to the users once a week.

But fees can also occur elsewhere. The tokens that can be traded via the user interface are tokens from third-party providers. If you want to withdraw them again later, for example, you still have to handle this service via third-party providers, which can result in additional fees. In principle, however, the platform is free of charge. The implicit objective of StellarX also joins this point:

Independence from Ripple and Bitcoin
Stellar as new infrastructure – against bank coin Ripple
At the moment the credo in terms of adaptation is often still: Blockchain? Yes! Bitcoin? No, thank you. So it often happens that companies try to acquire the technology under the crypto currencies, but distance themselves from them. However, if StellarX prevails, this can change. Because in the long run the new platform pushes the Stellar network and can provide so in the long run for more price stability and more adaption.

Because if StellarX establishes itself as a trading platform, the chances also increase that banks in particular deal with the use of the Stellar token. With the objective of asserting itself as a cross-border payment channel, Stellar ultimately also attacks Ripple and the bank coin XRP.

Independence opposite Bitcoin
The network can also be more independent of Bitcoin. Bitcoin is still the leading crypto currency – even the price movements of the old coins are still strongly oriented to Bitcoin. That is one of the reasons for this dependence that one can exchange Altcoins only rarely directly against Fiatwährungen. Often the detour via Bitcoin is necessary.

With StellarX Stellar can ultimately also emancipate itself from this dependency. By the fact that one can exchange Stellars XLM directly on StellarX against Fiatwährungen and Stable Coins, a step takes place also here toward independence.

Conclusion: Worth a look
Whether the project is a graphical user interface, a decentralized stock exchange or a trading platform for crypto currencies is of secondary importance. The crucial thing is that StellarX takes the call for greater independence from central authorities seriously and creates an important breeding ground for what the ecosystem currently needs: the adaptation of blockchain technology.